BEDFORD — Bedford High head football coach Jack Belcher
is “100 percent” certain about one thing regarding
this week's 34th Thanksgiving Day meeting between the Buccaneers
and Concord-Carlisle.
“No matter what,” he promised, “there won't
be any snow on the field.”
The memory of last's year's 19-18 loss is still fresh. The
slush-covered, slippery C-C gridiron neutralized Bedford's
outside advantage. Add some defensive breakdowns, and the
Patriots had the upset.
Now the 4-6 Bucs have the home field advantage. That may mean
a crew ready to shovel snow at 6 o'clock in the morning. But
will it be enough to overcome the 6-3 Patriots' formidable
defense?
“Their defensive line is huge. They've been stopping
people all year,” Belcher acknowledged. “I expect
their defense to be real tough.”
One challenge for Belcher and the Bucs is to give that defense
things to consider besides Woodrow Carter, one of the top
ball-carriers in the annals of Bedford football.
Running primarily out of the tail, Carter combines explosiveness,
power and speed, and is effective inside and outside. His
20 TDs are a school record, and he leads the team in rushing
yardage (more than 1,100) and catches.
Carter was named offensive player of the year in the Dual
County League.
Only two teams have held Carter to fewer than 100 yards over
four quarters (he left the Bishop Fenwick game with a first-quarter
injury after gaining 73). And each time, fullback Antoine
King had an outstanding night on offense.
King, a DCL all-star, has 425 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns,
and a fierce, spinning running style that leads Belcher to
observe that “his motor never stops.”
Junior quarterback Manny Soto, starting his second Thanksgiving
game, will give the C-C defense another consideration. Any
time he drops back or bootlegs, Soto has the potential to
improvise. He ran for more than 200 yards in 9 games, scoring
twice in a come-from-behind win at Westford.
The offensive line includes 250-pound tackle T.J. Paganetti,
a DCL all-star.
Defensively, the Buccaneers are not the same team that started
the 2006 season. After watching three backs exceed 200 yards
rushing in the first 4 games, Belcher harkened back to his
personal experience as a high school and college offensive
lineman.

“What did we hate facing the most? When the defense
was in a bunch of different fronts on the same series.”
So, “somewhat out of desperation, I said, 'Let's start
doing this.' If nothing else, it makes the other team's linemen
think. And when they're doing that, it absolutely takes away
from their aggressiveness.”
For much of the season, the starting defense has included
as many as five sophomores. “I'm very happy about how
a lot of the younger kids have progressed,” Belcher
declared. “They're really different players now. Defensively,
it looks bright for the future.”
The senior defenders include linebacker Doug Howie, who missed
all of 2005 with an injury and this year made the DCL all-star
team.
King, Carter, center Chris Mercurio and linebacker Anthony
Santos are the Bedford captains for 2006. Thirteen seniors
will be finishing their Bedford careers, including the kicking
specialist, Jon Merlo, whom the coach said has also become
a first-rate defensive back.
The third-year coach recalled that “they were so green
when I first met these kids in March or April of their freshman
year. We kind of built the weight room together. And I actually
looked this up — they have a chance for their three
years in high school to get 15 wins for them. That's as many
as any class over the last 20 years.”
As for Concord-Carlisle, last Thanksgiving in the snow, the
Patriots beat a strong Buccaneers team that veteran head coach
Dick Kerr says might have been the best in the league at the
end of the season.
This year the Patriots come into the match-up with a chance
to finish the regular season 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the DCL
with a victory.
With a large number of experienced seniors in the starting
lineup, Kerr admits the Patriots “aimed in a lot of
ways for this year” while at the same time relying on
a number of underclassmen at the skill positions.
“The league is just much, much better than it’s
been as far as balance,” Kerr said, referring to the
number of strong teams in the Dual County League this season.
One of the main focuses for the Patriots will be containing
Bedford’s senior running back Woody Carter. In preparation
for the Thanksgiving game, Kerr says he has gone so far as
to gear entire practice sessions around stopping Carter.
“We have not seen that kind of speed in the league maybe
ever,” Kerr says.
Offensively, the key for Concord-Carlisle will be keeping
the Bedford defense guessing.
“We need to move the ball offensively, and I think balance
is the key,” Kerr says.
Evan Tierney is the top C-C scorer with 6 TDs and 40 points,
and then the balance shows as Harry Scales, Taylor Habbe,
Mark Walton and Jay Stephens all have 12 points.
Placekicker Conor Callahan’s 16 points include a pair
of field goals.
QB John Flaherty has tossed 4 TD passes.
The Patriots are one of the top defensive teams in the area,
in terms of points allowed, surrendering only 81 in 10 games.
C-C has shut out Methuen (17-0) and Boston Latin (21-0) this
fall, while holding Lexington, Weston, Newton South, Westford
Academy and Lincoln-Sudbury to 1 touchdown each.
Senior 190-pound linebacker Habbe is recognized as one of
the top two or three defensive players in the DCL.

Bedford: After starting last year 2-4, the Buccaneers
ripped off 4 straight wins before dropping a 19-18 decision to Concord-Carlisle
on Thanksgiving. The win streak included a 28-14 victory over DCL
champ Westford ... Woody Carter III, whose Hanscom-based military
dad Woody, Jr. will be deployed to Iraq on Sept. 13, has been offered
full scholarships by Northeastern and UMass.